Key term
OCR A-Level Business (H431) H431
Introduction to Business
Topic overviewEntrepreneurs, enterprise and the value they createLand, labour, capital and enterpriseSectors of industry, forms of ownership and the reach of a marketSole traders, partnerships, companies and limited liabilityChoosing a legal structure and what it means for stakeholdersFranchising and co-operativesThe functions of a business and how they depend on each otherMeasuring the size of a business, and what limits its growthJoint ventures and strategic alliances
Business Objectives and Strategy
Topic overviewAims, objectives and the hierarchy that links themSetting SMART objectivesCommunicating and revising business objectivesStakeholders and their objectivesStakeholder conflict and its managementStakeholder power and influenceMission statements and business purposeCorporate social responsibility and the profit trade-offBuilding and judging a CSR profileStrategy, tactics and implementationThe business plan and the Plan-Do-Review cycleRisk and rewardQuantifiable and unquantifiable riskUncertainty and its causesOpportunity cost in business decisionsContingency planning and crisis managementPorter's Five ForcesPorter's generic strategies and competitive advantageThe purpose of performance measurementFinancial measures of business performanceRatio analysis: profitability, liquidity and efficiencyNon-financial measures of business performanceForecasting and its limitsQualitative forecasting methodsForecasting sales, costs, profit and cash flowTime series analysis and moving averagesCorrelation, extrapolation and index numbersThe business decision-making processDecision trees and expected valuesAnsoff's matrixConflicting results from decision-making toolsCauses, types and barriers to changeChange management models: Lewin, Kotter and 7-SLeading change and using external consultants
External Influences
Topic overviewThe market, its size, growth and shareMarket structures and a firm's decision-making powerDemand, supply and their determinantsEquilibrium, shortages and surplusesMarket forces and the dynamic marketPhysical and non-physical marketsCompetition, and barriers to entry and exitMarket dominance and how it is regulatedGlobalisation and the forces driving itMultinationals, global strategy and global brandsInternational trade, its barriers and its practicalitiesExchange rates and currency conversionFree trade, trading blocs and the European UnionEmerging markets and the changing global environmentPolitical factors and political stabilityThe business cycle and key economic indicatorsTaxation, government spending and subsidiesMonetary, fiscal and supply-side policySocial factors and changing consumer lifestylesTechnology in business and technological changeThe digital revolution and the information ageBusiness ethics and ethical tradingManaging conflicts between ethical and other objectivesLegislation, compliance and the cost of breaking itEnvironmental issues and environmental policySustainability in practiceReading the external environment and the cost of ignoring it
Accounting and Finance
Topic overviewAccounting and finance objectivesSources of finance and the choice between themA true and fair view and the accounting conventionsCosts, revenue and profitCost classification and costing methodsContribution and the break-even pointMargin of safety and target profitBreak-even charts, stepped fixed costs and special ordersPayback period and average rate of returnNet present value and the investment decisionBudgets and variance analysisCash-flow forecasts and cash-flow statementsCash-flow problems and working capitalThe income statement and measures of profitThe statement of financial positionDepreciation and the valuation of assetsLiquidity and solvency ratiosProfitability and efficiency ratiosShareholder ratios and the limits of ratio analysisExternal influences and the finance strategy
Human Resources
Topic overviewHuman resource objectivesChain of command, span of control and delegationTall, flat, matrix and divisional structuresOrganisational culture and what shapes itFormal and informal communication and group normsVerbal, non-verbal and electronic communicationThe communication model and barriers to communicationWorkforce planningFlexible working practicesRecruitment and the choice between internal and external hiringSelection methods: interviews, tests and referencesTraining methods and training needs analysisAppraisal: 360°, peer and self-assessmentMeasuring workforce performance: turnover, absenteeism and productivityRedundancy and fair dismissalUnfair dismissal, grievance procedures and employment tribunalsThe functions of managementLeadership theories and stylesMaslow, Herzberg and the theories of motivationMonetary and non-monetary motivation in practiceEmployee relations and employment legislationTrade unions and employee participationExternal influences on human resourcesThe human resources strategy
Marketing
Topic overviewMarketing objectives and why a business sets themMarketing resources and SWOT analysisPrimary market research and trial marketingSecondary market research and desk sourcesSampling methods and sample reliabilityNormal distribution and standard deviationMarket share and market growthUsing market analysis to make decisionsConsumer buying behaviour and the marketing modelsNiche marketing and mass marketingCustomer orientation, product orientation and customer serviceMarket segmentationCustomers, consumers and business-to-business marketingThe product life cycle and its stagesExtension strategiesThe marketing mix and the marketing strategyProduct, USP, branding and differentiationThe Boston matrix, Ansoff's matrix and portfolio analysisPricing strategiesPrice and income elasticity of demandCross elasticity and advertising elasticity of demandPlace and channels of distributionPromotion above the line, below the line and digitalService marketing and the extended marketing mixExternal influences on marketing
Operations Management
Topic overviewOperations objectives and operations strategyAdded value and how it is measuredInnovation and research and developmentJob, batch, flow and cell productionSpecialisation and the division of labourService provision and customer serviceProject management and Gantt chartsCritical path analysis and network diagramsPERT and the limits of project planningProductivity and how to raise itEconomies and diseconomies of scaleCapacity utilisation and capacity managementStock control charts and reorder levelsReordering systems and the cost of holding stockLean production, just in time and kanbanTechnology in operationsQuality control, quality assurance and TQMExternal quality standards and benchmarkingChoosing a location for a businessLogistics and supply chain managementOutsourcing, offshoring and re-shoringExternal influences on operations
Human Resources
The communication model and barriers to communication
- 3 things to know
- Components 01, 02 and 03
Overview
Recall questions on the six elements of the communication model, including the source, receiver and feedback, barriers to communication such as jargon, long chains of command and the wrong medium, the model's uses and limitations, the costs of poor communication, and ways to improve it.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
What two costs does poor internal communication impose on a business?
Key term
Why can a business have excellent communication systems and still communicate badly?
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Name the six elements of the communication model.
Model answer
The six elements are the source, the message, the medium, any barriers, the receiver and the feedback.
- 2
In the communication model, what is meant by the source?
Model answer
It is the person or part of the business that originates the message and decides what needs to be communicated.
- 3
What is meant by the receiver in the communication model?
Model answer
It is the person the message is aimed at, who must decode it and interpret its meaning.
- 4
Why is feedback an essential part of the communication model?
Model answer
It is the only way the sender can tell whether the message was received and understood as intended, and it allows a misunderstanding to be corrected.
- 5
What is meant by a barrier to communication?
Model answer
It is anything that stops a message reaching the receiver or distorts its meaning on the way, such as jargon, background noise or hostility between the parties.
- 6
Give three examples of barriers to communication in a workplace.
Model answer
Technical jargon the receiver does not understand, a language difference in an international team, and an atmosphere of distrust between managers and staff are all barriers.
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